Former USC Assistant Women’s Coach West Nott And Coaches Taking ‘Road Trip Of a Lifetime’

West Nott with former USC Trojan Kaitlyn Christian

Former USC women’s assistant coach West Nott is rolling out West Coast Tennis Tours this summer for high performance juniors and college players looking to take their game to the next level.

Nott and his coaches will host the West Coast Tennis Tour this summer and will travel to 13 open prize money tournaments from May 15 to Aug. 12. The tour will begin in San Diego and make stops in places like Santa Cruz, Calif., Salem, Ore., and in Seattle for one of the oldest tournaments in the country, the Washington State Open which has been played every year for 128 years.

“We want to get young players to compete more,” said Nott, who severed as the Trojans’ women’s assistant coach for 10 seasons. “The tour is geared toward high school and college players who are seeking more pressure-filled match play. All levels are welcome. This is one giant road trip and we are connecting all the dots A to Z for a memorable life experience and seeing sights along the way.”

The tour is something Nott experienced himself last summer as a player. Now he wants to share what he learned and saw to others. He added that all results from the tournaments will go toward a player’s Universal Tennis Rating.

“It was a road trip of a lifetime,” said Nott, who grew up in Midland, Mich., and played his college tennis at Georgia Tech.

“This is for college players who are looking to makes some leaps in the lineup,” he said. “We will learn life lessons while competing. There’s more to tennis than just hitting cross courts.”

Nott’s coaching staff includes some of his former players who made the NCAA Final Four twice, won four Pac-12 championships and reached an NCAA national No. 1 team ranking in 2015.

A second project Nott is working on is College Tennis Tours where he will be hosting a trip to the NCAA Team Men’s and Women’s Championships May 17-22 at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, N.C. Nott said more information on the tours will be released shortly, but the trip provides the “ultimate college viewing experience for all junior players aged 13-18,” he said.

Tennis instructions and seminars will take place during the trip, as well as catching all the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four matches and NCAA Team Championships in men’s and women’s tennis. For more information, check out: info@collegetennistours.com.

“The whole idea behind these business projects is to get young players fired up about college tennis and competing,” Nott said.

Before the NCAA tournament starts, let’s review what has transpired this past regular season. I will grade each power 5-conference teams’ season on an A to F scale based strictly on what they accomplished in the regular season vs. what was expected of them this year. (Only the SEC has completed their conference tournament out of the Power 5 conferences).ACC

Virginia

Best Win: 6-1 vs Duke – Convincing score line over the biggest threat to them in the ACCWorst Loss: 5-2 at Baylor – Yes it was in Waco but losing to the same team for a 2nd time in a matter of just over two weeks was not something you expect to happen to Virginia.Team MVP: Colin AltamiranoGrade: B+

Having perpetual astronomical expectations makes the grading process a bit tougher on Virginia. 3 losses during the regular season would be considered a mild disappointment for the Cavs. But the team regrouped impressively and ran through ACC play unscathed yet again in convincing fashion. They are one of the teams in America that is capable of winning the national title.

Virginia Tech

Best Win: 6-1 vs. Duke – Playing without Amerigo Contini, the Hokies announced their presence to the college tennis world as a top 15 team by dispatching Duke, sweeping all 6 singles courts after dropping the doubles point. This win catapulted their season forward.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Wake – The Hokies have no bad losses, this one is selected by default.Team MVP: Hunter Koontz – only 2 losses all year. Rock in the middle of the lineupGrade: A+
About the best season possible for Virginia Tech. Nobody expected the Hokies to be as good as they have been this year by having only 3 losses all year and all to good teams. They vastly separated themselves from the middle of the ACC pack where they were expected to be and put themselves into the title contender pack.

Wake Forest

Best Win: 4-3 vs TCU – The won over TCU was Wake’s first big win of the year and assuaged the hurt of losing back-to-back matches vs Texas and Virginia.Worst Loss: 4-3 at NC State – The one loss to a team outside the top 30 and the loss that holds Wake’s ranking back from being even better than it is now. This loss to a feisty NC State team is what is keeping Wake out of the top 10. Bogaerts and Ho’s inability to win 3rd sets in this match was particularly disappointing.Team MVP: Noah Rubin – Beat several top players and is the reason why Wake has moved above the 20-30 range where they had been stuck for a few years. He is truly one of college tennis’s top talents.Grade: A-

A good year was expected from Wake and they matched those expectations, but did not surpass them. Very dangerous team moving forward with Rubin at the top of the deck. Look out for the Deacs come NCAA tournament time.

North Carolina

Best Win: 5-2 vs Duke – Another team with their best win of the season being over Duke. UNC played a great match in their win over their hated rival. Brayden Schnur played impressively in his return from injury that day.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Louisville – Even without Schnur, a puzzling loss for the Tar Heels. Louisville took it to them in doubles and on 3 of the singles courts to wrap up the upset in fairly quick fashion.Team MVP: Robert Kelly – The Freshman was a rock for the Tar Heels all season long in the lower part of the lineup and helped the Tar Heels survive the long absence of Schnur.Grade: B-

A very good year was expected from the Tar Heels and they have been mildly disappointing, not fully meeting those expectations. A lot of that blame goes to Brayden Schnur’s injury however so they are not graded as harshly based on that. With Schnur back, the Heels could be a very dangerous team in May.

Duke

Best Win: 4-3 at Illinois – Winning in Champaign is never easy. And through the year Illinois has proven to be one of the top teams in the nation, so Duke’s early season win their looks mighty impressive now.Worst Loss: 4-3 at Georgia Tech – Even playing without Alvarez, Duke should beat Georgia tech every time. This loss was a very low note to end the regular season on.Team MVP: Nicolas Alvarez –No brainer here. One of the best players in the nation already as a freshman. His signature win this year was the 3 set clincher over Noah Rubin to secure the Devils win over the Deacs.Grade: B

Duke has been solid all year long. Nothing really spectacular but still very good nonetheless. The team has shown depth problems as of late and those will need to be corrected come tournament time. They have lost a bit of steam down the stretch.

Louisville

Best Win: 5-2 vs. North Carolina – The most impressive win by far for the Cardinals this season. Showed their ability to step up to a higher ranked opponent and win.Worst Loss: 5-2 vs Drake – Tough to choose the 1st match of the season as the worst loss but the Cardinals do not have any glaring poor losses on their resume, so this one falls into the worst category by default.Team MVP: Sebastian Stiefelmeyer – Bursting onto the scene in the fall with winning the All-American championship in Tulsa, Stiefelmeyer continued to impress this season in dual play and cemented his place as a top 10 player in the nation. His signature win was a close victory over Colin Altamirano.Grade: A-

Have to give Louisville a high grade based on the consistency of their play all season long. They beat the teams they were supposed to beat while still challenging the teams ranked above them.

Notre Dame

Best Win: 4-3 at Florida State – Wins over Northwestern and Oklahoma State are other candidates but the win over FSU is more critical because it was in conference play and was on the road vs. a FSU team that was on fire at the time. Alex Lawson’s 3rd set breaker win over Jose Gracia sealed the dramatic win in Tallahassee.Worst Loss: 4-2 vs. Columbia – Columbia is a good team but this loss cost Notre Dame a chance at the indoor nationals in nearby Chicago, losing on their home courts to an underdog Ivy League team has to count as a pretty big disappointment.Team MVP: Quentin Monaghan – Starting in March, Monaghan gave the ACC another top player after he dismissed ranked opponent after ranked opponent and improved his ranking to #9 in the nation.Grade: C+

A bit of a drop-off was expected after losing Greg Andrews from last year but there were periods of the year where Notre Dame struggled. Ending the regular season in the lower 30s puts them on the right side of the tournament bubble, but one more loss here or there would have put their tournament chances squarely in jeopardy.

Florida State

Best Win: 5-2 at NC State – Winning in Raleigh in fairly convincing fashion in a match that was supposed to be an absolute toss-up that slightly favored the home team qualifies as FSU’s best win of the season.Worst Loss: 4-2 vs. Florida – I chose this loss as the worst loss of the season because it left FSU in the same position they have been for a number of years now, playing 2nd fiddle in their own state (3rd fiddle this year with the advent of USF). It was a massive match on ESPN3 and FSU had plenty of chances to win, but once again they failed to beat their archrival, in a match that was very winnable for the Noles.Team MVP: Michael Rinaldi – His improvement to being a ranked player this season was a big part of FSU’s success.Grade: B-

Another middle of the road season for FSU as expected. They did not have any signature wins but did not have any terrible losses either. This team did what was expected of them but nothing more. How much longer will stagnation be accepted at FSU?

NC State

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Wake Forest – Massive win for the Wolfpack in a match they were big underdogs in. This win over a highly ranked team is single handedly keeping them in the NCAA tournament-ranking zone.Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Harvard – This loss to Harvard cost NC State any chance of playing in the national indoor tournament and started their year off on a sour note.Team MVP: Simon Norenius – One of the most underrated players on the ACC for a long time. Norenius racked up the wins in the lower part of the line-up, being almost a sure point for the Pack each match and while more losses crept into his record as he moved up the line-up he remained a critical player for the Wolfpack.Grade: C-

NC State was expected to have a better season based on the fact that Austin Powell and Robbie Mudge are seniors and this was their last chance to make a big impact in the ACC, but instead the team took a slight step back rather than steps forward. Next year will be a tough year for NC State

Georgia Tech

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Duke – Finally! The win that Georgia Tech was looking for all season. After several 4-3 heartbreakers, including one to rival and top 5 team Georgia, the Jackets finally secured a big upset in the last match of the regular season. It probably came too late to get an NCAA berth, but still a very nice win.Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Louisville – This was the match that Georgia Tech desperately needed to keep any chances of the NCAA tournament alive and it was one that they should have won at home.Team MVP: Christopher Eubanks – The 6’7 freshman had several very good wins during the season and provided a nice punch at the top of the lineup for the Yellow Jackets all season long.Grade: C+

An improvement from a year ago but still it was a season of almost for Georgia Tech. They almost had a splendid year but instead will more than likely be sitting at home come tournament time again this year. Watch out for the bunch from Atlanta next year though.

Clemson

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Texas Tech – At the time of Alejandro Augusto’s comeback win over Huga Dojas to send the match to doubles where Clemson would eventually win (different format because of the rain at Blue/Gray) this win did not seem that big. But as the season wore on and Texas Tech continued to soar up the rankings, this win got bigger and bigger.Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. NC State – A lot to chose from here. Could have gone with the tone setting losses to Memphis or Auburn but I went with the loss to NC State because of how close Clemson was to the win at home. Leading the whole match, the Tigers could not finish the deal and the nail was put into the coffin for any NCAA tournament chances after losing to NC State.Team MVP: Luke Johnson – Ran through the ACC for a few matches, beating all comers. He was the only player on the team who consistently showed up during the entire ACC season.Grade: D

A very disappointing year for the Tigers. A slight drop-off was expected after the departure of Dom Maden, but looking at the returning roster this was thought to be a bubble tournament team at worst. But instead it is highly likely that Clemson will finish 2015 out of the top 75.

Miami

Best Win: 6-1 vs. George Washington – Yes I’m seriousWorst Loss: 4-3 vs. Pepeprdine – This was the tone setting loss for the Hurricanes. Blowing set leads on courts 5 and 6 cost Miami what would have been an important ranked win and maybe could have sent the season in a different direction entirely.Team MVP: Christian Langmo – Only player on the team that showed decent improvement as the season went on, culminating in a huge win over #4 Ryan Shane of Virginia.Grade: F

An awful year all around. This was expected to be an improvement year with the addition of Piotr Lomacki. The Hurricanes registered no wins worth anything at all and had a string of several 7-0 losses in ACC play in a row. Miami needs a change ASAP if they want their tennis program to get back on a respectable level.

Boston College does not award men’s tennis scholarships so they cannot be considered in this season recap.

Big Ten

Illinois

Best Win: 4-2 at Texas A&M – Without Farris Gosea, the Illini had just come off a huge in itself over Texas in Austin. With only 1 day of rest the Illini went into College Station and knocked of the upstart Aggies in impressive fashion.Worst Loss: 4-3 vs. Minnesota – A low note to end the regular season on, it was the first “bad” loss that the Illini accumulated all season.Team MVP: Aleks Vukic – The Freshman lost only 2 dual matches all season long and was a rock in the middle part of the lineup all season. The Illini have had critical contribution from all players but Vukic has been the most solid of them all.Grade: A

A very good season from Illinois. They have positioned themselves very well for the NCAA tournament and Big Ten Tournament. This is the best team that Illinois has had probably since their national title team of 2003. The NCAA tournament will determine if this season can be bumped up to an A+.

Ohio State

Best Win: 4-3 vs Texas – Even though the Longhorns would get revenge later in the season in Austin, tis win was still a very important one for the Buckeyes and kept them on track for another top 10 season.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Tulsa – Tulsa had already established themselves as giant killers after their big win over Southern Cal, so Ohio State should have been ready for the challenge of going into Tulsa but instead they left with a 5-2 loss that set their ranking back and the season in general back.Team MVP: Mikael Torpegaard – The Danish Freshman became a pretty stable part of the top of the lineup as the season went on. His signature win being over Andrew Harris of Oklahoma.Grade: B-

The 2015 season was a slight step back for Ohio State, but considering the loss of Peter Kobelt from the year before, the step back was not all that unexpected. Who knows what this team could have done if Hugo Di Feo had been cleared to play this year by the NCAA.

Minnesota

Best Win: 4-3 vs. Illinois – A huge win for Minnesota tennis, beating a perennial Big Ten power and boosting themselves into the top 25 and announcing their legitimacy to the otherwise unknowing college tennis world.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Harvard – After winning doubles, losing 5 of 6 singles courts vs a team that Minnesota should probably beat was disappointing. This loss held back their ranking for much of the season as well and kept people from considering them a legit Big Ten threat.Team MVP: Matic Spec – His emergence at the #2 spot as the season wore on ended up being the key for Minnesota. He complimented Leandro Toledo’s strong play at #1 by being a very strong #2 giving Minnesota a formidable top 2.Grade: A-

Minnesota had a great regular season. Before the win over Illinois they were about a B in grading but the massive win over Illinois boosted the season in so many ways, from ranking to national perception and positions them well for the NCAA tournament coming up.

Northwestern

Best Win: 4-3 at Vanderbilt – Early season win that positioned Northwestern for good things in 2015. Strong Kirchheimer’s 3rd set breaker win at #3 sealed the dramatic win in Nashville over a strong SEC team.Worst Loss: 4-1 at Rice – A loss that came out of nowhere quite frankly. I don’t know if the Wildcats weren’t ready or the underestimated the Owls but this was a bad loss in every way for Northwestern.Team MVP: Alp Horoz Pips Sam Shropshire for this award because of his overall solidness at the #6 position. Horoz evolved as one of the best #6 players in the Big Ten and had critical wins in several Northwestern’s close wins.Grade: B

A very solid season for Northwestern overall. A few 4-3 losses kept the season from being anything more but the Northwestern team kept their heads above water and have gave themselves a good chance to do something more in the tournament.

Indiana

Best Win: 4-2 vs. Oregon – This win showed that Indiana was a solid team and was ready for Big Ten play. By knocking off a middle-tier Pac 12 team who had higher ambitions, Indiana boosted their own ambitions.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Michigan State – Disastrous loss. Perhaps the single most critical loss for any team in the country when it is all said and done. This loss to an unranked and unthreatening Spartan team could very well cost Indiana a spot in the NCAA tournament. It has certainly put them squarely on the bubble when a win could have all but cemented their spot in the NCAA’s.Team MVP: Sven Lalic – Had a few critical wins that gave Indiana close wins, most notably the win over Penn State. Lalic held down the middle part of the lineup well and bridged the top to the bottom nicely.Grade: B-

Overall a pretty decent season from Indiana. A definite improvement from 2014. However if the loss to Michigan State costs them a spot in the tournament, the season will look a lot less successful than it looked just last week before the loss.

Penn State

Best Win: 4-1 vs. USF – This win was the crown jewel of Penn State’s glittery early season success. It announced their presence to the college tennis world and led many to believe that big things were coming from Penn State tennis this season.Worst Loss: 5-2 vs. Penn – While the with over USF was a sparling jewel, the loss to unranked Penn was the ugly smudge that signaled that the upcoming season was going be more complex than it first appeared. Penn State would follow with several other bad losses (to VCU, to UNC-Wilmington and to Michigan State).Team MVP: Tomas Hanzlik – Remained steady in the middle of the lineup despite the turbulent waters of the Penn State tennis season.Grade: D

A harsh grade on the surface but this season went south so quickly that it should be graded low. I don’t know if it has ever happened before that a team that qualifies for the Indoor National Tournament in February misses the NCAA tournament in the same season, but the Nittany Lions could do just that. An early season top 20 ranking was flushed down the drain with several bad losses. Barring a few upsets in the Big Ten tournament, Penn State will finish 2015, a season that began with such promise, in extremely disappointing fashion.

Michigan State

Best Win: 5-2 at Indiana – Played the roll of ultimate spoiler in Bloomington. Potentially crashing the Hoosiers NCAA tournament chances in the last match of the regular season.Worst Loss: 4-3 at Western Michigan – An inexcusable loss to the MAC team from Kalamazoo for the 2nd straight season. This loss torpedoed any chances that Michigan State had to turn their season around starting in Big Ten play.Team MVP: Gijs Linders – Absorbed many body blows in the season at #1 but despite those losses was able to end the season on a strong note, accumulating a few wins.Grade: C-

Not having JP Mullane for much of the season hurt the Spartans, but still the team underperformed and did not come close to the NCAA tournament in the end. They did somehow manage to get the #7 seed in the Big Ten tournament and that boosts the grade a bit. Could finish the season outside the top 75.

Iowa

Best Win: 4-2 vs. Wichita State – Only win over a ranked team all season for Iowa. Signaled a potential break through year early on for the Hawkeyes.Worst Loss: 4-2 at Cornell – This loss blew a chance to get another ranked non-conference win and cost them a chance to position themselves nicely before Big Ten play.Team MVP: Leftis Theodorou – Accumulated a good record playing at #3 and #2 for Iowa. Was the most likely player for Iowa each match to get a win for the team. A strong season for the freshman, good things to come for him in Iowa City.Grade: C+

2015 was a step forward for Iowa tennis. Expectations are fairly low for Iowa tennis and having the team in the top 75 for most of the season is an accomplishment. The success wore off as Big Ten play went on, but there are signs of improvement for the program.

Wisconsin

Best Win: 4-3 at Michigan State – Only win over a competitive team all season for Wisconsin.Worst Loss: 4-1 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay – No disrespect meant to UWGB, but this should never ever happen.Team MVP: Josef Dodridge – Actually won a decent amount of matches at #1 in the middle part of the season vs. Big Ten competition, enough to get the honor of team MVP.Grade: F

A horrible year for Wisconsin tennis. Could not beat any teams with a pulse and lost to some very poor teams. Wisconsin tennis has taken many large steps back in recent seasons, as the other sports in the Badger Athletic Department continue to achieve great success. The Sweet 16 appearance team of Marek Michalicka and Moritz Baumann feels a millennium away at this point.

Nebraska

Best Win: 4-3 at Denver – At the time this was an encouraging win and led some to believe that Nebraska was going to be a decent team in 2015.Worst Loss: 5-2 at Wisconsin – Only truly bad loss for Nebraska tennis in 2015. Every other loss is to ranked teams and teams that you would expect to beat Nebraska. Losing to the Badger train wreck is inexcusable.Team MVP: Dusty Boyer – Finished 2015 with an impressive 3 set win over Mikael Toregaard of Ohio State, this added to his already impressive list of wins over Matt Hagan of Iowa and Leonard Stakhovksy of Penn State making him a decent #1 for the Cornhuskers.Grade: C-

Nebraska did not have many expectations entering 2015 and they did nothing during the season to indicate that there should have been any to begin with. A very ho-hum nondescript season for Nebraska tennis, it did not reach terrible depths but it also was not very successful.

Michigan

Best Win: 6-1 vs. Memphis – A shocking display of tennis from Michigan. The one match of the season where the Wolverines played good tennis on all courts and swept aside a Memphis team that will probably be participating in the NCAA tournament.Worst Loss: 4-0 at Nebraska – Getting swept by a subpar Cornhusker team was the first real indication that not only was this Michigan team a big step back from previous Michigan teams but also that they were simply a bad tennis team (all losses before this had been to decently ranked teams).Team MVP: Runhao Hua – The Freshman from Shanghai had by far the best year of any Michigan Wolverine. He provided a winning record at the #3 slot and was the only player that other teams scouted for when facing Michigan this season. Hua will be the foundation of the next few years for the rebuilding of Michigan tennis.Grade: C–

A tough year was expected for Michigan in 2015 so it is impossible to give them too low of a grade despite the horrendous overall record (only had 6 wins all year). There were few positive signs but with coach Adam Steinberg at the helm you have to believe that things in Ann Arbor are going to get sunnier soon. The night is always darkest before the dawn and it’s hard to imagine a darker year of Michigan tennis than 2015.

Purdue

Best Win: 6-1 over IUPUI – This was a tough one. The other options were wins over Dayton, Eastern Illinois and Morehead State….Worst Loss: 5-2 at DePaul – A very poor loss for any team that is in a power 5 conference.Team MVP: Diego Acosta – His win over Aron Hiltzik alone gives him team MVP.Grade: F

After having a breakthrough year in 2014 by making the NCAA tournament, Purdue fell to abysmal depths in 2015. They were the worst team out of all power 5-conference teams who give men’s tennis scholarships. There were guys playing at the lower parts of the lineup who should not be on any D1 team let alone on a Big Ten team. Will there be any answers for next year? What happened ion 2015?

Check back in the next few days for the grading recap of the Big 12, Pac 12 and the SEC.

The University of Georgia’s “B” player Callie Whitlock at front and center after clinching a tiebreaker win over Boston College, 27-26, in the most exciting finish of the day.

Defending champion University of Florida is led by senior Adam Decker, who has made three finals appearances at the TOC National Championships.

CLOSE QUARTERFINAL MATCHES HIGHLIGHT THE DAY AT USTA TENNIS ON CAMPUS FALL INVITATIONAL

Florida, Georgia “B”, N.C. State, Auburn Advance to Semifinals Sunday

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C., Oct. 11, 2014 – University of Florida knows the feeling of the thrill of victory at the USTA Tennis On Campus Fall Invitational having won the 2013 title at the fifth annual tournament currently taking place at the Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center.

The Gators also know all too well the agony of the defeat at the TOC National Championships in April as they have been the Buffalo Bills of TOC finishing runners-up four of the past five years.

One of Florida’s top players and senior Adam Decker has been on three of those four finalists teams at Nationals. “We’re hoping for a different outcome at Nationals this year, but we have to get there first,” said Decker, who on Saturday led his team into Sunday’s semifinals with wins over William & Mary (29-16) and a close 22-20 overtime win over Georgia Tech’s “A” team.

The winner and runner-up from the Fall Invitational will qualify for an automatic bid to compete for the national title at the 2015 USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship, to be held April 9-11, 2015, in Cary, N.C.

The Gators, from the USTA Florida section, moved one step closer to that automatic bid and will face Georgia’s “B” team on Sunday in an 8 a.m. Gold Bracket semifinal. A total of seven points is all that separated all four semifinals as the University of Georgia “B” team eked out a 27-26 victory against Boston College to advance.

Georgia was down heading into the final mixed doubles match, which involved former NCAA Division II player Callie Whitlock, who this year transferred from Rollins College to Georgia. Whitlock and her partner pulled out a 6-3 win to tie the match, then won the supertiebreaker 7-2 to clinch the win.

Whitlock could be the new poster child for Tennis On Campus as she said the pressure of collegiate tennis became too much, and she wanted to return to playing tennis “just for fun.”

“Plus my dad went to Georgia and I wanted to study music business and they were voted as one of the top programs for that major,” Whitlock said. “I love this format. This is the first time I got to play the ‘redemption’ match where we were down, tied it, then won the tiebreaker. It’s so much different but I just like it. I like the mixed doubles, and how much of a team environment there is.”

Whitlock said ever since coming to Georgia she has enjoyed college. “I was a little bit burned out on tennis,” she said. “We had practice every day for two hours and morning practice three times a week. I wanted to just enjoy college a little bit more. There’s just a lot more pressure and I wanted to get back to just playing for fun. That’s what Tennis On Campus is all about.”

Georgia’s “A” team came so close to having both Bulldog teams facing each other in the semifinals, but the “A” team dropped a 20-17 decision to Auburn.

Both Georgia teams are sharing a rented house on the beach, said senior captain Marissa Pulido, who plays women’s doubles for the “A” team. “To have two teams get to the quarterfinals is incredible,” Pulido said. “It’s never been done here before so we have a new record.”

Pulido said the depth of the Georgia Tennis On Campus team speaks to how strong the Metro-Atlanta area is in tennis. Led by Pulido, the Bulldogs beat — you guessed it — Florida to win the 2013 TOC National title. “That was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I’ve ever had on the court,” Pulido said.

Pulido said that both the “A” and “B” teams were equal and were a mix of the program’s best players. She added that the “A” team also has a former varsity player in Brian Brandt, a transfer Birmingham Southern.

The Bulldog “A” team beat Harvard, 28-20, in the Round of 16 earlier in the day. Later in a battle of Ivy League schools, Harvard downed Cornell, 25-17.

Janowicz, Querrey, Rosol, and Lu are semifinalists at Winston-Salem Open 2014Eric Logan, Tennis East Coast

Quarterfinal day, my final day at the Winston-Salem Open, was an eventful if disappointing one as the four semifinalists were decided. Spectators arrived to Center Court for four singles matches and one doubles match for the honor of playing on Friday in the semifinals.

The first quarterfinal was played between Taiwanese number one Yen-Hsun Lu and Italian Andreas Seppi. While the two are ranked closely and were both seeded in the 9-16 range at the event, their form could not have been more polar opposite coming into the Wake Forest event. Lu has been in superb form, beating Berdych in Cincinnati and nearing his career high rank. Seppi, on the other hand, has a negative win-loss record this year and seems on the downswing.

Their respective forms were telling as Lu broke early. Seppi had chances to break back, but repeatedly missed returns. In fact, the return seemed to be the source of the vast majority of the Italian’s woes, as it repeatedly found the net and the point was over before it had begun.

Lu reaches the semis and continues a career best year for him

The second set began with a poor Seppi service game, where Lu broke to cheers from his coaching camp. It was around that time that the announcement was made that defined the day for many fans: 2012 champion John Isner had withdrawn from his clash with the big-hitting Czech, seventh seed Lukas Rosol. The marquee match of the day now canceled, the crowd seemed almost to will themselves into emotionally investing in the match at hand.

That task proved difficult as Seppi continued to play woefully- at one point getting a chance to get back on even terms at 15-40 only to miss four consecutive returns. The 6-4 6-4 final score was generous to the fourteenth seed as he struggled to ever make any headway on the Lu serve. The match ended with almost two hours before the next match, which while doubtless a boon to the concession vendors, was unkind to the fans who had to wait in the heat for David Goffin and Jerzy Janowicz to play the only other day session semifinal.

After the match finally began, Janowicz quickly broke. The Belgian’s serve proved an enormous liability, and although throughout the first set Goffin seemed the better player off the ground, the Pole’s potent returns coupled with his own huge serve (which was more reliable than normal) allowed for Janowicz to take the set 6-4 after a game in which the net and the side of the racquet favored him on more than one occasion. In the second set, the confident and aggressive baseline play coupled with excellent retrieval that led Goffin to win 25 straight matches was nowhere to be seen as he was broken twice to lose the match 6-4 6-2. Janowicz would advance to the semifinal to play the winner of the day’s night match.

Janowicz snaps Goffin’s win streak

With Rosol getting the walkover into the semifinals, the only other quarterfinal was contested between Sam Querrey and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Querrey had his serve and forehand working and he prevailed 6-7 6-2 6-4 as GGL faded late. In the only doubles match contested yesterday, Jamie Murray and John Peers beat Mariusz Frystenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3 6-4.

The seeds met in the R16 today at the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina. The day produced some great drama, a wide variety of quality, and in the end, the majority of favored players advanced.

Action began on center court (and only center court, given the small number of matches on courts two and three) with twelfth seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin considered the underdog against Jerzy Janowicz despite his higher rank. Fresh off a controversial win over Joao Sousa, the Pole came back from a set down to win in a rather messy three set-match. The quality of tennis was low, but there was great drama at the end as Janowicz faced break point from 40-0 up serving for the match before serving out a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win.

Janowicz’s victory was followed by what would be considered the match of the day by most present, where fifth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez faced eleventh seeded American Donald Young. A tight first set was decided in a tiebreak in which, after a great effort earlier in the set to save a number of set points, the Spaniard crumbled at 4-5 in the tiebreak, losing both service points. Garcia-Lopez rebounded by breaking twice in the second set by prevailing in numerous beautiful rallies.

In the third, Garcia-Lopez captured the break and looked poised to win when he held two match points serving at 5-4. Young brought the crowd to its feet, however, by saving them with a return winner and a smash off a smash before Garcia-Lopez broke himself on a double fault. After drawing the set to a tiebreak, Young then held two match points at 6-4. Garcia-Lopez saved the first with a forehand winner before Young threw the second away with a double fault of his own. Garcia-Lopez then hit another of his countless forehand winners to set up a third match point on his serve, which he took at last.

The third match on Center court was another low-quality affair, where Sam Querrey dispatched an out-of-sorts Kevin Anderson in a match defined by countless Anderson unforced errors by a score of 7-6(4) 6-4. This match brought an end to the day session on center court, and left the tournament without three of its top four seeds after Robredo and Mayer’s losses in the previous round.

On the outer courts, eight players attempted to punch their tickets into the quarterfinals. Marcel Granollers arrived late to his match against Yen-Hsun Lu and looked thoroughly unprepared to play tennis. The eighth seed fell to the ninth 6-1 6-2 in a match in which he sliced the vast majority of groundstrokes, was kept on the defense constantly, and won only two return points in the second set.

David Goffin continued his win streak with a 6-4 4-6 6-4 score against an unexpectedly game Jarkko Nieminen. Nieminen has been in very poor form in contrast to Goffin’s 24 (now 25) straight victories. In the end, however, Goffin’s game proved more solid than the Finn’s. Lukas Rosol defeated Pablo Andujar 1-6 6-2 6-2 in an up-and-down match that seemed to end with words between the players. Nicolas Mahut was unable to back up his win against Tommy Robredo as he fell 6-4 7-6(7) to Andreas Seppi.

In the night match, top seeded John Isner took on thirteenth seed Mikhail Kukushkin. The Kazakhstani player began
the match extremely poorly, surrendering the first set 6-1 in a flurry of unforced errors amid some good returning by Isner. Kukushkin raised his game in the second to make the match competitive, but was unable to return Isner’s huge serve in critical moments and in the end surrendered 6-1 7-6(3).

The day’s most dramatic match in doubles ended the same way the most dramatic match in singles had: heartbreak for Donald Young. Young and Nicolas Monroe lost the first set to Florin Mergea and Joao Sousa 6-2 before roaring back to win 5 games in a row and send the match to a supertiebreak at 2-6 6-1. Here, the American team led 7-1 amid a number of bad calls against the Europeans that had even the North Carolina crowd calling out in dismay and had to have Sousa wondering if the officials had a pact against him. Things then began to turn, and it was a tighter 6-9 when Young and Monroe arrived at match point.

On the first match point, Sousa served an ace. The second was dealt with routinely as well. The third, however, was the shot of the tournament thus far. Off of a big Young serve that looked to have the point won, Mergea hit a stunning full stretch backhand return winner that seemed a good deal faster than the aggressive serve. Mergea backed up the shot with a big forehand, and a point later Mergea and Sousa clinched an incredible
comeback win.

In the final match of the day, Sam Groth showed off his enormous serve as he hit 147 miles per hour in the first game of his doubles effort partnership with Chris Guccione. The Australians faced two losers from the singles draw, Marcel Granollers and Pablo Andujar. Some clutch Granollers net play saved four break points, including a set point. Chris Guccione then tightened up to lose all three service points in the first set tiebreak to allow the Spaniards to steal a set in which they were clearly not the better team. In the second, however, they stepped it up a notch to break twice for a 7-6(4) 7-5 win.

Tomorrow’s schedule includes one doubles match, Jamie Murray and John Peers against the veteran Polish team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. It also includes four appealing men’s singles quarterfinal matches: John Isner against Lukas Rosol, Andreas Seppi against Yen-Hsun Lu, Jerzy Janowicz against David Goffin, and Sam Querrey against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Until then, all eight players should still feel they have a fighting shot at the title in Winston-Salem.

Tennis East Coast is happy to announce we will have live coverage from the early rounds of the Winston-Salem Open this year thanks to our on site correspondent Zephyr Logan. His reports will begin tomorrow from the grounds at Wake Forest University. Until then, here is a preview of the tournament, which serves as the end of the Emirates Airlines US Open Series, and the final tune-up before the US Open for all participants.

The top 16 seeds get first round byes, and for a pre-slam 250, Winston-Salem has an excellent field.

First round matchups to watch:

Noah Rubin (Photo: Cynthia Lum / USTA)

Bradley Klahn vs. (WC)Noah Rubin
Klahn is taking part in his first tournament in quite some time after injuries further derailed his season. He will take on the Kalamazoo and Wimbledon junior champ Noah Rubin, who already has a US Open main draw wild card in his back pocket and will be playing this match in preparation for his grand slam debut.

It has been a miserable debut season on the ATP tour for Klahn, who has seen his one-dimensional game exposed by many an ATP opponent. His lone ATP win over Daniel Brands was back in January in Auckland and he has lost nine straight ATP level tilts since then. Overall, he is just 3-16 at the ATP level in his career since 2010.

Rubin, meanwhile, is making his ATP debut here in Winston-Salem and he is yet to win a match at the challenger or qualifying level (0-4 overall outside of junior play). With Klahn coming off of an injury he is, at best, a slight favorite, but Rubin has a great shot to get the win.

Robin Haase vs. Benoit Paire

Haase hasn’t been anything but a journeyman so far this season and will be playing his first hard court match since Miami. Paire was struggling and has fallen out of the top 100, but he has experienced a boost in form in the past two weeks, perhaps spurred on by the fact he was able to push Stan Wawrinka to a third set tiebreak in Toronto before coming up short. After having to go through qualies in both Toronto and Cincy, Paire is 5-2 in his last 7 matches and has beaten reasonable ATP level opponents like Alejandro Falla and Blaz Rola in that stretch. With everything to gain, Paire has a chance to excel this week but he first must dispatch Haase, who will likely play poorly.

Jerzy Janowicz vs. Carlos Berlocq

Another player who returned to form after a poor 2014 is Jerzy Janowicz. He upset Grigor Dimitrov en route to a third round showing in Cincy and he may finally have found a spark to kick-start his abysmal 2014 season.

Berlocq is returning from injury and has not played on a hard court in a while, so he should make easy fodder for the big hitting Janowicz, who defeated him once before indoors in 2012. Berlocq usually puts a lot of balls back in play though, and Janowicz must keep his errors down to grab the win.

Top Half:

John Isner has never lost in Winston-Salem, as he was the champion in both 2011 and 2012, while skipping the tournament last year. While he seems to love Winston-Salem, his form has been poor the past two weeks as he exited in the third round of Cincy and the first round of Toronto and Washington (overall 2-3 in his last five matches after winning in Atlanta).

Something appears to be up with Isner and his game right now, but it is unlikely he will have any trouble with Klahn/Rubin. His first test may come against Paire in the third round, assuming Paire beats Mikhail Kukushkin after beating Robin Haase. Kukushkin has proven to be a more formidable competitor at the challenger level than at the ATP level, and Isner against either Paire or Kukushkin is still likely to be safe from defeat.

Lukas Rosol will be playing his first tournament of the US Open Series in Winston-Salem. The Czech will take on Ryan Harrison or JL Struff for his first match, and he is likely to go through to face either Pablo Andujar or Igor Sijsling/Andrey Golubev in the third round. Harrison is struggling and Struff isn’t a top hard court performer, meanwhile Sijsling, Golubev and Andujar are playing on hard courts for the first time in a while. Rosol over Andujar is my pick to reach the quarterfinals.

Cincy quarterfinalist Tommy Robredo, who upset Novak Djokovic in Cincy in a week that has to be the highlight of his 2014 season, will take on Blaz Kavcic or Nicolas Mahut, and unless he tanks he should be through to face Andreas Seppi/Martin Klizan/Federico Delbonis in round 3. With Seppi being primarily a clay courter who has not been in top form all season, Klizan has a chance to sneak into the third round or perhaps do even better than that, given his streaky talent. Seppi has a 2-0 h2h with Klizan and both players come off early losses in Cincy. Given this is not a difficult section, Robredo should extend his record of 5-2 in his last 7 matches to 7-2 in his last 9 matches and reach the quarterfinals.

Marcel Granollers could have trouble against Paul-Henri Mathieu/Robby Ginepri in his first match. The Spaniard is 3-1 against Mathieu but he has lost three straight matches. These three players are all unpredictable and fragile veterans and though Ginepri upset Dominic Thiem as I predicted he might in Cincy, he was crushed by Milos Raonic in the next round. Ginepri has a slight h2h edge over Mathieu though Mathieu won their last meeting in Indian Wells this year, and Ginepri also has a 2009 win over Granollers indoors, so I have Ginepri through to the third round in my own bracket as a bit of a surprise. I’d expect Ginepri to be sent home by Rendy Lu in the third round, though. Lu beat Berdych in Cincy and is 2-2 in his last four matches, a good mark for the Taiwanese ball striker who does his best on hard courts. Lu is likely to face Blaz Rola in his first match unless Rola falls to a qualifier. Rola was a lucky loser in Cincy and lost in the first round to eventual semifinalist Julien Benneteau in a nail-biting third set tiebreak. Also, David Goffin is in the qualifying draw and is one to watch out for if he qualifies and is placed in a section such as this.

Bottom Half:

A hugely anticipated third round clash could occur between Kevin Anderson and Steve Johnson. Anderson lost to Isner in Cincy and may still be mentally struggling while Johnson had good runs in both DC and Cincy, losing to Milos Raonic both times after wins over top names Isner and Ernests Gulbis. Anderson must defeat Adrian Mannarino/qualifier to reach round 3, and Johnson must defeat Pere Riba/Sam Querrey to do the same. I don’t see Querrey spoiling things and I favor Johnson reaching the quarterfinals over Anderson.

Garcia-Lopez, who has lost his last five, could very well have trouble with Dustin Brown in round 2, assuming the big serving German can defeat Alejandro Gonzalez. Brown hasn’t played on hard courts in a while and he is on a three match losing streak, while Gonzalez is a competent hard court competitor. That one is a hard match to call, but I have GGL falling to the winner simply because he’s a streaky player and right now his form is way down.

Donald Young has a great chance in this section, as his first match will be against Frank Dancevic/Thomaz Bellucci, neither of whom are likely to be a threat. Young, who played well in DC, and lost in the second round of Toronto, just beat Dancevic on home soil in Canada and I have him through to the quarterfinals against Johnson in an all-American battle.

Breakthrough veteran Leo Mayer will open with Jurgen Melzer, the defending champion, or a qualifier. Given he much prefers clay, even an out of form Melzer or the qualifier, should reach the third round. Melzer/qualifier could meet Jarkko Nieminen or Benjamin Becker/Pablo Carreno Busta at that stage. Becker, who made the second round in Cincy as a qualifier, has been in far superior form compared to any other player in this section but he has lost his four meetings with Nieminen, who is playing for the first time since Kitzbuhel. I see a qualifier/Melzer falling to Becker, who is the most likely quarterfinalist in this section once the dust settles.

Last but not least, Joao Sousa will take on the winner of Janowicz/Berlocq, and Janowicz is probably a small favorite to reach the third round. Sousa has been struggling for a while and is unlikely to capitalize on his seeding. Look for a Janowicz vs. Edouard-Roger-Vasselin or Aleksandr Nedovyesov/qualifier third round meeting. ERV is also struggling, having lost three straight, including a third set tiebreak loss to Fabio Fognini in Cincy. This is another section where a qualifier like Goffin could capitalize and make a deep run. As it stands, Janowicz is the most likely quarterfinalist.

Dark Horse: Jerzy Janowicz
The Pole has a favorable draw that should allow him to get past Berlocq, Sousa, and ERV/qualifier, then dispatch Becker in the quarterfinals to reach the semis. With his likely opponents Johnson/Young/Anderson, I’d have him, if he’s in form, favored in any of those semifinal matchups. I have JJ as a finalist this week and a potential champion.

PredictionsSemis:
Isner d. Lu
Janowicz d. Johnson

It’s hard to pick against Isner in W-S when the draw gives me no reason to do so. Rosol may resist, but I don’t think he has the game to win that matchup on an outdoor hard court. Likewise, Lu will probably be overpowered like he has been in all three previous meetings, including two this season, with the American number one. All of those matches took place on outdoor hard courts. As for how Lu got the semis, Robredo is formidable but he is likely to want to conserve his energy for the US Open. By the time he is slated to play Lu, he is unlikely to give the match all his passion.

I’m favoring Janowicz to make the final as previously stated, and Johnson should have a form edge over Young after defeating Anderson. Johnson is also a possible finalist though.

Final:
Isner d. Janowicz

They have never met before, but Isner’s higher ranking and home-cooking should make him the favorite to win a third W-S title and stay undefeated at the Wake Forest venue.

North Carolina, California Winners @USTA 14U Junior Team Tennis at National Championships

Wilmington, N.C. and Southern California team from San Diego, Calif. claim intermediate and advanced titles

CAYCE, S.C (Oct. 21, 2013) — Two teams were crowned Sunday at the 2013 USTA Jr. Team Tennis 14U National Championships, held at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C., Oct. 18 – 20. A team from Wilmington, N.C., representing the USTA Southern Section, captured the Intermediate Division title while a team from San Diego, Calif., representing USTA Southern California, earned the Advanced title.

The 2013 USTA Jr. Team Tennis 14U National Championships brought together the top 32 teams at the Advance and Intermediate level from various USTA Sections throughout the country.

“This week featured a fun group of really enthusiastic kids,” said Adrienne Di Menna, USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Manager. “We crowned two brand-new national champions, yet the biggest win was seeing how the teams interacted with one another and established friendships. With technology and social media being what it is today, we think it’s awesome that we have players from different sections staying in touch long after they’ve left South Carolina. I think they all realize that we’re part of one big national team, trying to grow this sport.”

The Wilmington team, defeated a team from San Diego, Calif., 56 games to 44 in the Championship match. Earlier in the tournament, they defeated a team from Oklahoma City, Ok. 50-34 in the semifinals.

“This is huge for them, this has been a goal that they’ve had for over a year now, talking about it every week at practice,” said Isenhour, of her squad that just missed Nationals last season. “Our team has worked so hard for this moment right here, so we’re really proud of them.”

The San Diego team, defeated a team from Providence, R.I., 50 games to 37 in the Championship match. Earlier in the tournament, they defeated a team from Ocean Springs, Ms., 56-34 in the semifinals.

“There’ll be a huge party when we get back home that’s going to be off the hook,” said Coach Liu. He and his team of 10 from San Diego were experiencing their first Jr. Team Tennis National Championship. “It was a fantastic experience. There’s no guarantees going forward, so to do this in the first year is special. Some of our kids are aging out [in the 14 & Under division], but we’ll try to come back in a few years and win it all in the 18s.”